Win story in focus: AI-Powered Next-Gen: SPFx Development and SharePoint Migration with GitHub Copilot
About
A leading global technology services organisation with deep expertise in engineering, manufacturing, and digital solutions, sought to modernise its SharePoint landscape.
With a globally distributed workforce and operations spanning diverse industries, SharePoint had become mission-critical for collaboration and knowledge management. The organisation aimed to migrate legacy solutions and build custom SPFx components to enhance scalability, improve performance, and deliver a seamless user experience.
Problem
The client’s SharePoint environment had become a barrier to agility and growth, limiting usability and future scalability. The key challenges included:
- Legacy SharePoint customisations requiring migration to SPFx.
- Modernisation of classic solutions.
- SPFx development demanded high technical skill demands across TypeScript, React, SharePoint APIs, and modern development tools.
- Manual coding of web parts, which was time-consuming and prone to errors.
- Migration scripts involving significant effort and frequent adjustments.
- Accelerating migration while maintaining quality and minimising downtime during the transition.
Solution
Deloitte’s team introduced GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered code assistant, to accelerate SPFx development and streamline SharePoint migration. By embedding intelligent coding support directly into developer workflows, the approach reduced manual effort, enabled faster delivery, higher quality, and consistency at scale. The solution comprised:
- Automated Code Refactoring: Suggested modern equivalents for legacy SharePoint code.
- SPFx Web Part Generation: Assisted in building functional React components.
- SharePoint API Integration: Supported seamless integration with SharePoint APIs.
- Microsoft Graph API Integration: Enabled rapid access to user profiles and SharePoint list data through prebuilt TypeScript scaffolds.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Copilot simplified onboarding of new developers.
- Process Automation: Enabled automated documentation and code reviews.
- Workflow Integration: Embedded Copilot into Visual Studio Code.
- Best Practice Alignment: Applied organisation-specific templates to ensure consistency.
Impact
The adoption of GitHub Copilot delivered tangible business results, combining measurable efficiency gains with lasting improvements in developer experience and scalability.
- Faster Development: Achieved up to 30% reduction in project development timelines.
- Accelerated Migration: Enabled a seamless transition from legacy SharePoint solutions to modern SPFx components.
- Improved Quality: Delivered consistent and error-free code across the environment that adhered to security best practices.
- Greater Productivity: Freed developers to focus on high-value tasks, enabling innovation and enhancing job satisfaction.
- Sustainable Scalability: Established repeatable, Copilot-enabled workflows for future modernisation projects.
The solution demonstrated how AI-driven tools can enhance developer productivity and drive enterprise digital transformation.
Anne Greenwald
